Give Him Back
by misspatchesmom
Summary: The DiNozzo family adjusts to a new baby in the house. Tali is not too sure she likes her baby brother. Part of the "You Complete Me" universe.
1. June 2017

Give Him Back

_Tali decides she doesn't like her baby brother. The family adjusts to a baby in the house._

Chapter 1 June 2017

"Ima, look at my picture," Tali tapped Ziva's arm to get her attention. She thrust the paper with her drawing towards her mother.

"Not now, yaldati," Ziva responded gently. "I am feeding Anthony; you can show me the picture in a little while." Ziva checked that the baby was still suckling as she spoke. Anthony nursed so differently from his older sister. Tali had been easy to nurse, setting a steady pace and timing to her feedings within the first week. Anthony, on the other hand, seemed so greedy when he latched to her, wanting his share and then some. The baby was currently nursing about every three hours; a voracious appetite as well as an aggressive sucking. Even at three weeks old, he was not yet on any set feeding schedule.

Tali sighed and walked back to her kid-sized table where her markers and crayons were spread across the tabletop. A pad of drawing paper half hung off the edge of the table. She threw her picture on top of the scattered markers and crayons. Abba was out buying groceries and she was bored. Ima was too busy with her baby brother to play with her.

The little girl walked over to her shelf of toys, books, and DVDs. None of the toys appealed to her; she picked up a few and then quickly dropped them on the floor after losing interest. Reading the books was more fun when Ima or Abba read the words on the pages to her. She pawed through the shelf of DVDs; nothing looked interesting. In boredom and frustration, the child swept her arm across the shelves and knocked most of the books and DVDs to the floor. She kicked a few of the cases as she moved back to her table.

Ima and Abba had made such a big deal about her becoming a big sister; babies are fun. You will have fun with your new brother. You can be a big girl with a new baby in the house. So far, all Tali could tell is that the baby brother took up a LOT of her parents' time. Ima had to feed Anthony. Once the baby ate, then he messed his diaper and had to be changed. Eat and poop was all the baby brother seemed to do; oh, and take her parents' attention.

Stupid baby brother had even taken their attention from her birthday party. Abba was holding the baby when Ima brought her birthday cake with the three candles to the table. Ima and Abba sang '_happy birthday'_ to her; Abba told her to make a wish and blow out her candles. Just as she was about to exhale at the candles, Anthony farted and burped at the same time. He barfed on Abba and his diaper leaked stinky poop.

Ima quickly blew out the candles and Tali was left at the table with the cake while her parents cleaned up Anthony. So much for her birthday wish… maybe she should wish that her parents took the baby back to where they got him.

She absently picked up a marker and opened the cap. She doodled on her arm with the purple marker making random designs. This was fun so she opened other colors and drew on her legs and other arm. She was admiring her coloring work when Abba came in the front door with bags of groceries.

"Hi Abba!" Tali called out as he hurried towards the kitchen to put the bags on the counter.

"In a minute, Tali; let me get the groceries put away," he replied without looking up at his daughter.

Tali frowned, not Abba too. She shuffled back into the living room and started throwing the markers at the shelf. Anything to get rid of the boredom and find something fun to do. She stopped in mid-throw when Abba's voice startled her.

"TALI! What the hell are you doing?" Abba sounded angry. He noticed the brightly colored shapes on her arms and legs, "What did you do to your arms and legs? Why Tali, why?" Abba was almost in her face now.

Her bottom lip quivered, she didn't mean to make Abba angry, but she was bored. "I… nobody would play with me," she hung her head as she responded to her father.

"So you drew all over yourself and threw the markers?" Tali was starting to not like the anger in Abba's voice; tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Abba," she sniffled and tried to look at him through her tears. "Time out?"

Tony took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. He looked at his daughter and her marker-colored arms and legs. He noticed the books, toys, and DVDs on the floor by the shelf. "Come here, yaldati," he held his arms out.

Tali walked slowly into her father's arms; was she in trouble or not? "I'm sorry, Abba," she repeated.

"Oh, baby, Abba is sorry also. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's a big change with an infant in the house, and we are all getting adjusted," he hugged his little girl.

"Take him back. I don't like him!"

Tony moved to the sofa and pulled Tali into his lap so he could look her in the eyes, "Why don't you like him?"

"He takes up all of Ima's time and a lot of your time, Abba. Ima doesn't play with me anymore," Tali slowly explained to Abba. "Take him back."

Tony put a hand under Tali's chin and tilted her face upward so she would look at him. "Where would we take him? Remember he grew in Ima's belly because he is my and Ima's baby, just like you were. It's okay to be jealous Tali. He does take a lot of time that Ima and I used to have just for you."

"But I want that time back for me!" she protested. "Why can't you take him back to the hospital and tell them you don't want him?"

"It doesn't work that way; and Ima and I do want him, Tals. I know it's hard to get used to being the big sister and getting less time with just you and Ima or just you and me. Tali-T, want to know a secret?" he looked at her as he spoke in a semi-whisper.

Her eyes lit up as she replied, "Ken, Abba. Secret for you and me?"

"Yep!" he lowered his voice and pulled her closer. "The secret is that Anthony is going to need you to be his big sister in many ways. He will need his big sister to show him lots of things, important things, about life and being part of this family. Do you think you can do that?"

"Like showing him how to eat chocolate chip pancakes?" she grinned at her father as he nodded solemnly. "I can do that!"

"Or showing him that it is important to talk about feelings," Ziva added from the doorway. She had been quietly listening to the conversation between her daughter and husband. She walked over to the sofa and sat next to the other two. "I am proud of you Tali for being a good big sister. You help me a lot by bringing me a clean diaper for your brother or handing me the towel after his bath. Those are important big sister jobs."

"Really Ima?"

"Yes, and I am sorry that I brushed you off earlier. Sometimes it is easy to forget that you need attention as well, yaldati," Ziva reached to hug her daughter.

Tali wrapped her arms around her Ima, "It's okay Ima, I forgive you. I love you Ima."

"Love you too, Tali. Now, how about you and me clean up your books and DVDs while Abba makes us all some lunch?" Ziva suggested.

"Okay, Ima. Abba, is cleaning up my toys something I have to show Anthony?" Tali looked at her father.

"Yes, that's one of the important things you will have to teach him," Tony winked at his wife over their daughter's head. "Very important…" He headed into the kitchen to make grilled cheese sandwiches for the three of them as Tali and Ziva started putting books and DVDs back on the shelves. He could hear the two talking about the books and movies as they replaced the items on the shelf; Tali was getting her Ima time. After lunch, he'd get the little girl into the bath and help her wash off all of the marker spots.


	2. July 2017

Chapter 2 July 2017

Ziva watched Tali showing Anthony some of her story books while folding laundry. Anthony was watching his big sister and grinning at her. In fact, the six-week-old infant's first real smile had been at his big sister just a few days ago. Tali had been so excited and wanted to call Uncle Tim and Aunt Dee immediately to share the news. Both parents managed to get pictures with their phones of the second smile.

In just two short weeks, they'd be packing up and heading back to DC as a family. Only Tim and Delilah knew about the move so far. The other couple was the only two who knew about all of the changes for Tony and Ziva since the previous summer.

"Penny for your thoughts," Tony sat next to his wife and started helping fold the tiny clothes for his kids. Anthony seemed to go through an entire infant's department worth of clothing every couple of days. He'd already outgrown the newborn size and was mostly wearing three-month size clothes now with a few six month sizes as well.

"Thinking about the move to DC," Ziva replied. "We have a lot of changes that only Tim and Dee know about…"

"True; the others don't even know that we are together, let alone married and with a second child," Tony reflected on all that had happened since he'd left the States in search of answers the previous summer. "I'm a bit apprehensive about going back, but it feels right, Zi."

She nodded, "That it does. I want our children to know their extended family of the heart. Now that we know that Tim and Dee are expecting twins, our two will have cousins as well."

"Don't forget about the Gremlin's kid; Victoria is a little less than a year younger than Tali," he reminded her. "NCIS the next generation?"

"No, please…" Ziva grinned and had a mischievous look come to her face. "Gibbs with a walker telling Tali, Anthony, and the McGee twins to 'grab your gear.' And Jimmy's kid as the ME." She chuckled as Tony's eyes widened and he broke into one of his signature grins.

"Of course he'd have to get a special act of Congress to be allowed to be an agent at almost ninety years old," Tony snickered. He turned serious, "I hope our kids get to be whatever they chose in life, Ziva. To be honest, I hope none of them wants to be in law enforcement…"

She patted his arm, "Time will tell; although I do have to agree. Change of subject, should we get Anthony's two-month well baby check-up here before we leave or wait until we get to DC?"

He thought a minute, "The next one after this is at four months, correct?" When Ziva nodded, he continued, "If we do it here, that gives us time to find a pediatrician after we settle in."

"I can schedule it this afternoon when I go for my six-week postpartum," she added. "Are you still planning to stay here with the children?"

"Yeah, it'll give you a chance to get out kid-free for a bit," he wanted her to have alone time, even if it was only two hours for a doctor appointment. She'd pretty much been nonstop mom since Anthony's birth. Anthony was finally on a regular feeding schedule; she nursed him most of the time, with one or two feedings each day of formula supplements since the little boy ate about every three hours. If he got hungry while she was out, Tony could bottle-feed him.

"And it'll give you a chance to ask about, um, you know, without miss big ears listening," he raised his eyebrows at her and grinned when she got his meaning. "I miss our time…"

She patted his leg, "I know, I will ask, I promise." She winked at him and lowered her voice, "I also miss that part of our private time…"

Anthony started fussing, and Ziva picked up the baby from his blanket on the floor. Tony asked Tali to choose a DVD to watch while her mother fed the baby. She handed him _The Little Mermaid_ and father and daughter sat side by side on the sofa to watch the Disney movie.

About half way through the film, Ziva came into the living room. "I am headed out to the appointment; Anthony is asleep in his crib. I should be back before he wants to eat again, but if not there are two bottles of formula ready to go in the refrigerator. Do we need anything from the stores while I am out?"

Tony stood and pulled Ziva in for a kiss, "Not that I can think of; just need my wife back home as soon as she can." He kissed her a second time and whispered in her ear, "Hopefully with some news about…"

She swatted his chest and whispered back, "There are children in the room!" She turned to Tali who was still watching the movie, "I will be back in a few hours, Tali."

"Okay, Ima," the girl replied without looking away from the screen. She'd come a long way since the days of near melt-downs if her mother stepped out of the flat. "I'll keep Abba out of trouble."

Ziva chuckled and headed out to her doctor appointment. Tony sat back down to finish watching the movie with his daughter.

Just as the final credits started rolling a wail came from Anthony. Tony stopped the DVD player and tuned the TV to a kids' channel for Tali. He gathered up the baby and went to the kitchen to warm a bottle of formula. Anthony was trying to rut against his Abba.

"Sorry, kiddo, I'm not your Ima, but I'll get something for your hungry tummy soon," Tony cooed at the baby to get his attention. "That's my big boy, smile at Abba." Anthony gave a short smile and then fussed some more. The bottle was almost ready; Tony tested the formula temperature by letting a few drops fall on his wrist. He placed the nipple in Anthony's mouth and within seconds the baby was sucking greedily. "That a boy, I know it's not the good stuff from Ima, but it'll still fill you up," he talked to the baby.

"Abba," Tali came into the kitchen. "Why did Ima go to the doctor?"

"She has to get checked out that she is okay from when Anthony was born," he tried to keep his explanation simple enough for a three-year-old.

"Oh, I thought maybe she would have to tell them that we are going to keep Anthony."

Tony smirked to himself; this was the same big sister who wanted to give the baby back a month ago. "Are you sure we should keep him?"

"YES! Abba, we can't give him back."

"Why is that?"

"Because we would miss him and because we LOVE him, Abba. He's our baby to keep!"


	3. Third Saturday in August 2017

Chapter 3 Third Saturday in August 2017

Tali watched all the new people talking to her Ima and Abba. Uncle Tim and Aunt Dee were there also as was the nice old man, Grandducky, that she met last week. They were all at Grandducky's house with the other people she didn't know.

Ima handed Anthony to some of the others; the man with the gray hair seemed to be nice. The man and woman with the other little girl watched her a lot. She wanted to go see the other girl closer up, but she wasn't too sure about the lady with the black hair and black boots. That lady had made a funny sound when she, Anthony, Ima, and Abba had walked in the door at Grandducky's house. The gray-haired man had told her to get quiet.

Tali had grabbed onto her Abba's leg and stepped behind him. Then Abba had reached down his strong arms and picked her up into a hug. She felt better about all the strangers when Abba held her. Ima and Abba seemed to know everybody. There was lots of hugging and smiling; and the black-haired lady had tried to get Tali to talk to her. She'd also cooed and smiled at Anthony, but he only smiled at some of the people. The black-haired lady was not one of them.

Tali watched Ima and Abba and tried to stay close to them at first. All of the grownups were talking and listening to Ima and Abba tell about where they used to live and about Anthony. Tali tuned out most of the conversation and watched the other little girl. The girl was playing with some toys that were in a large box in the corner. Tali slowly got closer to the girl.

Tali was almost right next to the other girl when she looked up from the toys. "Hi, I'm Tali."

"I V'tori," the other girl replied. "Want to play?"

"Okay," Tali sat next to Tori. "Tori," she tried the strange name as the other girl handed her one of the wood vehicles from the box. Tali peeked into the box to see more vehicles and lots of blocks made of wood. She moved the wood car over the carpet and then reached into the box of blocks. "Want to build a house?"

Tori nodded and started helping Tali stack blocks in a rough house shape. Tali started a second house, "This is my house and that one is your house." She picked up her wood car, "This is our car; Abba drives it to the places we want to go. Does your Abba drive a car?"

"Who A-ba?" Tori was confused with a name she'd not heard before.

Tali pointed to her father, "Abba." She pointed to her mother, "Ima." Finally she pointed to Anthony in the gray-haired man's lap, "Anthony."

"Oh," the other little girl looked over at her parents. She pointed to her father, "Daddy," and then her mother, "Mommy."

Both little girls pointed at Tim, "Uncle Tim," they said together and giggled.

"Aunt Dee," Tali pointed as Tori nodded.

"Grandducky," both girls pointed to the old doctor and smiled.

Tori pointed at the gray-haired man, "Gampa Gibbs." She then pointed at the black-haired lady, "An' Abby." Abby heard her name and waved to the girls. Tori ran over and hugged her favorite aunt and babysitter. Tali just watched from where she was sitting; she was still not too sure about the black-haired woman.

Anthony started fussing like he wanted to eat and Ima took him to another room. Tali moved closer to Abba while Ima and Anthony were gone from the room. She showed her father the wooden cars with which she and Tori had been playing.

"Nice; Tali, I bet Gibbs made those," he commented. "Are there others?"

"Lots of them, Abba, and lots of blocks. See my house that I built with Tori?" she pointed to the stacks of blocks by the wooden box. Then she pointed to the gray-haired man who had been holding Anthony before he started fussing. "Is that Gibbs? Tori said he is Grandpa Gibbs?"

Tony pondered how to respond to his daughter; he and Ziva had not discussed how Tali, and eventually Anthony as well, would refer to the others from NCIS. Ducky had been the one to suggest that the children call him "Grandducky" as Victoria Palmer did. He'd heard Tali use the name when referring to the old doctor and in addressing him directly. Ziva thought it cute and he was okay with it.

Gibbs, however, was a different story as far as Tony was concerned. The two men had some bridges to mend in the coming months; plus, he knew that Ziva and Gibbs would also need to talk things out. On the flip side, if the other children were calling him 'Grandpa,' then maybe Tali and Anthony should as well.

Tali looked at her father expectantly awaiting his reply. Ziva came back in the room with Anthony, who was now fed and sleepily looking at the others in the room.

"If he is okay with you calling him Grandpa, then you may," she spoke to Tali and Tony quietly, so that only the three of them heard the response.

"Okay, Ima. May I ask him?" Tali smiled at her parents.

They both nodded and watched as Tali approached their former boss. She was about to ask him her question when she noticed the black-haired lady - the one Tori called 'Aunt Abby' - take Anthony from her Ima. Tali frowned and turned away from the gray-haired man. She needed to watch that lady with her brother.

Abby started cooing and making sounds at Anthony to get him to smile. She tickled his belly and watched the baby break into a grin. "Ooh, he is sooo cute; I could just eat him up!"

Tali moved a bit closer to the woman as she heard the comment. Why did this person want to eat her baby brother? She did not like that the woman held Anthony one bit.

Abby made some more sounds at Anthony and he grinned and cooed at her. "He is adorable; I could just take him home with me…" she gushed to no one in particular. Tali frowned; she did not like this woman's comments about her brother one bit. "Yeah, little Tony-mini-me, I'd take you in a heartbeat. You're so freaking cute," Abby tickled Anthony's chin and got him to break into a wide grin.

"NO!" Tali stomped her foot and got as close as she dared to this Abby person. "He's OUR baby and you can't have him," she glared at Abby. "Give him back to Ima. I don't like you!" She reached out to put her arms around her brother protectively. "Go away from my brother."

"Tali!" Abba was standing next to her all of a sudden and Ima moved to take Anthony from Abby's arms. "That's not nice; tell Abby that you're sorry for being mean."

"NO; I don't like her. AND SHE CAN'T HAVE ANTHONY," Tali shouted and ran from the room into the hallway where Ima had gone with Anthony earlier. She was angry; how dare Abba tell her to tell that Abby person that she was sorry when the woman said she would take Anthony! Tali sat on a chair and pouted. She would NOT apologize to anyone. She looked down at the floor and tried to keep from crying.

Tony stepped into the hallway after Tali ran from the room; something had upset his little girl to make her act as she did. He spotted her sitting on a chair in the entryway. She was looking at the floor with a sad expression; he could tell she was trying not to cry. He quietly stepped closer.

"Tals?" he knelt down in front of his daughter. When she didn't respond or look up, he put his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face so she was looking at him. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Nothing," Tali sulked. Abba said nothing but kept looking at her. She could see that he wasn't angry at her, so she sighed. "That lady with the black hair and black boots said that she wanted to take Anthony, Abba. She can't have him; he's OUR baby."

Abba nodded and brushed a tear from her cheek as she continued, "She said she could eat him up, Abba. I don't like her. Make her go away and leave Anthony alone. He stays with you and me and Ima, right?"

"Come here," Abba pulled her into a hug. "She didn't mean that she would really eat him. And she's not going to take him away from us."

"Then why did she say that?"

Abba sighed and made eye contact with her, "Grownups say silly things sometimes, Tali-T. They forget that kids don't always know that the grownups are being silly. I can understand how the things Abby said could upset you and make you think that she was going to take your brother or worse."

"Abba, do you like her? Does Ima like her?" Tali could tell that her parents knew the black-haired lady the way they all talked and laughed.

"Yes, she is our friend, T-bird. I think if you would give her a chance, that you would like her too."

"Tori likes her. She hugged the lady."

"Uh-hmm; and I'd bet Tori has a lot of fun with Abby too," Abba glanced at the doorway to the room where the others were. The Abby lady was coming towards them.

"Hey," Abby said softly. "I… um… I wanted to … um… make sure Tali is okay."

Tali looked up at the woman, "I thought you would take Anthony away from us. I'm sorry I yelled at you." She looked at Abba who nodded and smiled.

"Oh, Tali, I am sorry too. I didn't think that you wouldn't understand that I was only joking," Abby squatted down to the little girl's level. "I forgive you. Forgive me?" she held out her hand for a shake.

"Okay," Tali put her hand in the larger one and nodded.

Abby smiled, "You can call me Auntie Abby if you want." Tali looked at Abba again; he nodded.

"Okay, Auntie Abby. You can call me Tali."


	4. Christmas 2017

Chapter 4 Christmas 2017

"NO, Anthony!" Tali pushed her brother's hands away from her dolls yet another time. She yanked the fashion doll from his hands and let out a yell. "Eww! Ima my doll is all slimy from Anthony's drool and spit."

Anthony started crying when his big sister took away the fashion doll that he had been gnawing the legs. The hard plastic felt good against his sore gums where the teeth were trying to push through.

Ziva handed the baby his teether ring as she scooped him into her arms, "Tali, do I need to remind you that anything you leave on the floor is going to go into your brother's mouth? We have talked about this several times now, yaldati. Also remember that we have talked about you just grabbing things from him."

"Sorry, Ima," Tali responded automatically. "Why does he have to always get my toys?"

Ziva sat on the sofa and motioned for Tali to come closer. Anthony was in her lap gumming the teething ring and drooling on himself. "He is starting to explore his world; you did the same thing when you learned to crawl. Anything on his level is going to catch his eye."

"But, Ima, why does he always head for me?" Tali wanted to know.

"He loves you, and you are closest to his size," Ziva explained.

Tali frowned, "So when he follows me, am I supposed to be helping him learn the important things like Abba said? And why does he have to put everything in his mouth?"

"That's one way he learns about things, by putting them in his mouth and also by touching them. Remember also that he is getting teeth and he chews on things like his teether ring to help the teeth break through his gums," Ziva moved the baby's lower lip slightly so that Tali could see the bit of white tooth that had erupted in the past day or so. "See? He has two teeth just peeking through the gums."

Tali nodded, "I know, Ima. He bit me on the finger when I took my doll away from him before."

"He needs to have teeth to eat the solid foods like you, Abba and me. Right now he eats the cereal and the pureed fruits and vegetables, but before we know it, he will be eating the same foods as the rest of the family."

"Ah-eee," Anthony grinned at his sister. "Ah-eee. Mmmm. Mm-ah." He grinned at his Ima and sister some more and put the teether back into his mouth. His shirt front was soaked with drool and his hands were wet.

Ziva glanced at her watch; it was nearly lunch time. She stood with Anthony in her arms, "Are you hungry Tali? It is almost time for lunch."

"Yes, Ima; can we have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch? Please?" Tali followed her Ima to the kitchen and climbed into her booster seat as Ima put Anthony in his high chair.

Ziva put a handful of Cheerios on Anthony's tray as she replied, "One grilled cheese sandwich for Tali coming up." She wiped the spread on the bread and placed a slice of American cheese between the two pieces of bread and dropped the sandwich on the small griddle. While the one side was toasting, she opened the container of pureed carrots and spooned some into the baby dish. She flipped the sandwich on the griddle and opened the container of pureed pasta, chicken and gravy. She spooned a serving into the dish for Anthony and placed the plastic dish in the microwave.

She then placed the finished grilled cheese sandwich on a plate for Tali.

"Cut it in a X please, like Abba does," Tali watch Ima make her sandwich. "Toda, Ima." She grinned as her mother placed the four triangular sections of the sandwich in front of her. Ziva poured a cup of juice for her daughter and then sat down to feed her son.

Anthony greedily inhaled his food as his mother put each spoonful in his mouth. No one could accuse this boy of having a poor appetite! After the foods, Ziva held the sippy cup for Anthony to drink. He was just starting to get the idea of drinking from the cup, but didn't quite get that he was supposed to hold it. He drank if a parent held the cup for him.

Ziva had just finished cleaning up Anthony when the three in the kitchen heard the front door open. She looked over at Tali and grinned, "Abba is home." She nodded that Tali could get down from her chair to greet her father.

"Abba!" Tali ran to greet him. He lifted her into a hug as she told him about their morning and lunch. "And Ima made grilled cheese sandwiches and cut mine into a X like you do, Abba."

By this time, the father and daughter were in the kitchen. Tony leaned towards his wife to peck her on the lips, "Good to be home." He had a half-day at work due to the long Christmas weekend. He was still getting settled into his new job at FLETC-Cheltenham, but so far he loved working with the training sector. "Any news on our offer?"

Ziva shook her head, "Nothing yet, but we only submitted it last night." They had found a five-bedroom house with almost all of the amenities that they wanted and submitted an offer to the seller. The house had home offices for both of them, a huge master suite, a family room, four smaller bedrooms in a separate area from the master suite, a living room, a sitting room that both had seen as a potential play room, a formal dining room as well as a kitchen breakfast nook, a three car garage, a kitchen that Ziva and Tony fell in love with at first sight, and a large fenced yard.

When they had first looked at the house, both had felt a sense of 'home' almost immediately, as if the house itself had called out to them. Tali had run from room to room excitedly and when the little girl had entered one of the bedrooms, she'd declared it hers.

If their offer got accepted by the seller, they'd be looking at a closing date in mid-January and moving in by the end of the month. Because the house they were currently leasing for their first six months back in the US came fully furnished, the couple would be purchasing furniture for most of the house. Eli's inheritance would come in handy.

"So what's the itinerary for the weekend?" Tony broke into their individual thought trains.

Ziva pulled up the calendar app on her phone, "You and Tali have the father-daughter brunch with Santa tomorrow at 1000. Jimmy and Tori are meeting you there. I am going to take the clothes that Anthony has outgrown over to Delilah for the twins while you are out. Anthony can go with me. Tomorrow night we are having Tim and Dee over for dinner."

Tony added the brunch to his calendar with a reminder alarm. "Sunday?"

"Abby wants us all to meet at Gibbs' house at 1100 to decorate for Monday; and to get the food gathered in one place. Are you and Tim still planning to install the new TV and DVD player?"

"Yep; we have it scheduled for delivery at 1300 on Sunday. I still can't believe the Bossman is going to host everyone at his house for Christmas," Tony nodded as he checked his text messages for the delivery confirmation.

"STOP ANTHONY! NO, NO, NO!" the sound of their daughter's voice followed by cries from their son sent both parents running into the family room. Tali was angrily grabbing her toys from the baby and pushing him away from her things. Anthony was crying and trying to crawl after his sister. "GO AWAY ANTHONY!"

"Tali!" Tony spoke sharply. "Please use an inside voice."

"Also please stop shoving your brother," Ziva added as she moved between her children. Tali glared at her parents.

"Make HIM stop trying to take my toys," she retorted. "He has his own toys to play with," she put her hands on her hips and scowled at the other family members.

Tony put a hand on Tali's shoulder and guided her to the sofa as Ziva handed Anthony one of his board books. "Anthony is a baby, Tali. He doesn't know any better yet. He has a lot to learn, but you are three and a half. You know better than to hit a baby, and we've told you again and again that if you leave your toys on the floor, he will get into them."

"Well, I don't like him anymore. He can go somewhere else," she pouted. "I'm tired of being the big sister."

Ziva stood up with Anthony in her arms, "Right now, Anthony is going to take his nap after I change his diaper. When I come back, Tali, we will talk more."

"Okay, Ima," the little girl sighed. "I guess…" she mumbled under her breath. Baby brothers were a royal pain some days. "Abba, can we watch a movie?"

Tony met gazes with Ziva; this child was definitely theirs… "Tali, we are not going to watch a movie; you and I are going to have a talk about your attitude and how you are behaving with your brother."

Tali hung her head and sighed audibly; Anthony this and Anthony that… she was tired of it and tired of always being the big sister. "Okay, Abba."

Thirty minutes later, Ziva came back to the family room to find Tali and Tony setting up the six-panel portable play yard in the corner of the room where Tali's toy shelf and toy box were. Tony showed Tali how to work the gate of the play yard and grinned at her when she opened the latch.

"Way to go, Tali-T! This was a great idea to keep your brother out of your toys," he looked up to see Ziva watching them. "Hey, Sweetcheeks. Tali is a mastermind; she came up with the idea of setting up the play area around her dolls and other toys to keep Anthony out of her stuff."

"Brilliant," Ziva walked to the plastic panel and high-fived her daughter. "That was a great idea, yaldati. Now you can play with your dolls on the floor and Anthony will not get into them."

As the little girl happily played with her dolls, her parents exchanged a glance and a kiss. "We're getting the hang of this parent thing," Tony grinned.

"Even if we have to get the child to come up with the solution," Ziva grinned back at him and locked her lips on his. "Mmmm… more later, my little hairy butt."

~TALI~

Both little girls and their fathers had a blast at the brunch with Santa on Saturday morning. Since it was a brunch, Ziva planned only a snack for Saturday afternoon to hold them over for dinner with the McGees. The three-week-old twins slept most of the time they were at the DiNozzo house; Tali and Anthony were both fascinated with the babies during the short time they were awake. Anthony seemed especially interested in Katie, the older of the two. He watched her and tried to pat her head several times; Tony finally helped his son touch the baby carefully. Anthony grinned and babbled to everyone.

Sunday was decorating day at Gibbs' house; Ziva and Breena brought over casserole dishes and pans of food. Ziva made three pans of lasagna ahead of time; they all only needed to be reheated on Christmas day for the family dinner. While in the kitchen, Breena asked Ziva for some tips on preparing Tori to be a big sister in April. She swore Ziva to secrecy, but shared that they had learned that the baby was a boy. She and Jimmy would be sharing the news with the family at Christmas dinner.

Tim and Tony set up the DVD player and large-screen TV that the DiNozzo and McGee families purchased for Gibbs for Christmas. Tony had reasoned that with the entire family at one house for the holiday, Gibbs' old black-and-white TV was not an option for the family to view _It's A Wonderful Life_ together. Tim found a deal at the local big-box store and he and Tony had made the purchase and arranged for delivery the previous weekend.

Abby coordinated the decorations and the food. On Christmas morning, families began arriving at Gibbs' house around 1030 and by 1130 the house was full of children and adults. Gifts were opened and the two little girls helped almost everyone open presents.

Tori proudly showed off her "Big Sister-to-Be" shirt to anyone and everyone. Several of the family asked Jimmy and Breena if they knew the baby's gender, but neither one said a word. Jimmy finally announced that they had a surprise for everyone and handed a large box to Ducky to open.

The old doctor lifted the lid as a blue helium-filled balloon floated out, "It's a boy!" Ducky smiled at his surrogate son and grinned even wider when Breena told the family the name they'd chosen, Charles Donald Palmer.

Anthony laughed at the shiny balloon and Tali ran over to the McGee twins in their carrier seats. She took her cousin's hand and solemnly declared, "Tori, you have to be a big sister and show your baby brother all the important things like how to be a part of this family and how to put away your toys." The adults all chuckled at the serious tone and expression of the little DiNozzo.

She then looked over at her Ima and Abba sitting on the loveseat with Anthony in Abba's lap. "Ima, you have to have two babies like Aunt Dee so that I can have a baby sister and Anthony can have a baby brother!"

"Yeah, two more DiNozzos would be perfect," Tony quipped. "That would fill all the bedrooms in our new house!" he grinned at Ziva as she playfully swatted him.

"Anthony has a lot more growing to do before we have any more babies! But, everyone, we found out yesterday afternoon that the seller accepted our offer. We will be homeowners very soon."

"To babies, houses, and families! Merry Christmas to all!" Ducky raised his glass in a toast.

"To family!" the others replied. "Merry Christmas everyone!"


	5. June 2018

Chapter 5 June 2018

"Anthony's birthday is next week," Ziva reminded Tony as the couple got ready for bed on the Sunday before Memorial Day. "And Tali's birthday is also coming up very soon; three weeks from tomorrow."

Tony nodded, "Do we want to do a family birthday party for each of them? This is Tali's first birthday with everyone and Anthony's first birthday period."

"I was thinking cake and ice cream next Sunday afternoon for Anthony," she replied. "For Tali, we have more time to plan; maybe a family dinner with birthday cake for dessert?"

"Sounds good to me. Oh, by the way, I ordered that toddler basketball set that I told you about. Should be delivered on Wednesday," he showed her the email from the popular online shopping website acknowledging the order.

Ziva smirked at her husband, "And what are you going to do if he decides he doesn't want to play basketball?"

Tony shrugged, "We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it…"

~TALI~

The following Sunday, Tali was helping her father set up for Anthony's party while Ima was getting Anthony dressed for the party. She put the party plates on the table next to the cake. Abba put the matching napkins and some plastic forks and spoons by the plates.

"Abba, why is there a big cupcake by the big cake?" Tali had noticed the separate smaller cake on the table.

Tony grinned at his daughter, "That's for Anthony; he'll end up wearing a good bit of it. When we are ready for cake, we'll strip him down to just his diaper and turn him loose."

She grinned back at Abba, "That's going to be very messy!"

"Sure is; somewhere on the computer there are pictures of you with cake all over; even in your hair," he tickled her as he teased. "You were covered in cake and frosting"

"No way. I DO NOT make a mess when I eat," she crossed her arms and glared at her father.

"You did when you were one," Ima spoke from the doorway to the dining room. Anthony ran to Tali and hugged his big sister with a huge DiNozzo grin. He'd been walking for almost a month and had recently started a semi-running when he spotted his sister.

"Ah-ee!" the little boy spoke happily. "Ah-ee!"

Tali was about to protest more when the front door opened and the McGee family followed by the Palmer family came in the house.

"I'm telling you, we should use the doorbell, Tim," Jimmy was still uncomfortable with just walking in the DiNozzo house, even though Ziva and Tony both insisted family didn't need to knock. He maneuvered the large diaper bag and two-month-old baby Charles in his infant carrier through the doorway behind Delilah's wheelchair. She had John in her lap; Tim had Katie in his arms and a similar large diaper bag slung over his shoulder. Breena was carrying a wrapped gift as was Tori.

Tony took Katie from Tim as Ziva picked up John; Tali and Tori hugged and then Tori followed Tali to the family room. Tony was about to shut the door when he noticed that Gibbs, Abby, and Ducky were starting up the walkway from the driveway. He felt a weight on his leg and looked down to see Anthony clinging to his right leg and looking up at his cousin.

"Tee."

"Yep, big boy, I have your cousin Katie; give me a second and I'll put her down where you can see her," Tony greeted the three newcomers and followed them into the family room. He sat Katie on the floor near the baby toys and Anthony rushed over to sit next to his cousin. He handed her a block and one of his board books, grinning at the six-month-old. She smiled back at him.

Abby plucked Charles from his carrier and sat on the sofa with the baby, cooing and talking to him. The baby smiled at his Auntie Abby. She remembered the incident with Tali and baby Anthony and was careful about what she said to and about the baby.

Tori moved over by her Auntie Abby, "You can have him if you want; I don't like him."

Abby pulled the little girl into a side hug, "He's your baby brother, sweetie. Why don't you like him?"

"He takes up all of Mommy's time and lots of Daddy's time too. All he does is eat and sleep and mess his diaper. I hate him!"

Jimmy overheard the conversation between his daughter and the Goth, "Now, Victoria, we have talked about this. Of course you like him; he's a part of our family."

"NOPE!" the little girl stormed out of the family room and ran into her Uncle Tony.

"Hey munchkin, what's the hurry?" Tony had overheard most of the conversation with Tori, Abby, and Jimmy. _'Been there, done that,'_ he thought of the period of adjusting to a new sibling with Tali and Anthony.

"Don't like my baby brother; he can go away," she pouted. "Daddy says I hafta like him; but I won't." she crossed her arms and frowned.

"I see," Tony held out a hand to his niece. "Come into the kitchen with me for a minute. I'm going to tell you a secret about baby brothers." She took his hand and nodded. In the kitchen, he sat at the table and turned the little girl so she would look at him. "Baby brothers need lots of help learning about the world and about being a part of a family."

Tori nodded solemnly as she listened to Uncle Tony.

"And the one person who can help the baby brother the best is the big sister, did you know that?" Tori shook her head as he continued, "So, you, the big sister, have a very important job." He lightly tickled her side as he spoke. "Do you think you can do it?" he whispered conspiratorially.

"Yeah, I can do that," she whispered back and grinned. She gave him a hug and ran back to the family room to play with Tali.

"Thanks, bro," Jimmy had been listening to the conversation.

"No problem; it worked with Tali, so I thought I'd give it a shot with Tori," Tony replied. "I sure wish sometimes that these kids would come with a manual!"

Jimmy grinned at his brother of the heart, "Amen to that!" The two men went back into the family room where Ziva was getting Anthony ready to open gifts. There were brightly wrapped presents from the McGees, the Palmers, Grandducky, Auntie Abby, and Grandpa, as well as a very large box with a bow from Ima and Abba.

Ziva started her son on opening the gifts by showing him how to tear the wrapping paper. He laughed at the sounds of the ripping paper and when Katie laughed at the noises, Anthony tore even more paper to make her laugh. He was having so much fun ripping the paper that the gifts were barely noticed. Tali was more interested in the wooden tray puzzles handmade by Grandpa than Anthony. The books from the McGees were looked at and dropped when there was still more paper to tear.

Finally, only the enormous box from his parents remained. Anthony's eyes got really big at the sight of the large present. The box was taller than Tali; at just under thirty-two inches tall, Anthony was tall for his age but the box was almost five feet long! Tony started the tear in the paper and that was all the little boy needed to tear away the wrappings, giggling the whole time.

Tony cut the tape sealing the top of the box and pulled out the five pieces to assemble the toddler basketball set. Anthony spotted the three balls and picked one up as soon as his mother removed them from the bag in which they were packaged. Tony snapped the adjustable height post onto the base, and then attached the over-sized rim to its net. He snapped the rim into the backboard and placed the goal assembly on the top of the post. He made sure it was at the lowest height setting and then showed his son how to put the ball through the hoop.

Anthony imitated his Abba and laughed and clapped his hands after dropping a ball into the hoop. Katie laughed so Anthony dropped another ball through the hoop. The baby girl laughed more; each time Anthony put a ball through the hoop, she giggled and laughed. Soon all of the others in the room were laughing or chuckling, even Gibbs. After all, who can resist a laughing baby?

Ziva was still chuckling when she got up and went to the kitchen to get the cakes ready for serving to the family. Tony had already set up Anthony's high chair on a disposable plastic drop-cloth to make cleanup easier and to protect the floor somewhat. She put the large cake on the table with its single candle and the large cupcake for Anthony alongside. She called the family into the dining room to sing happy birthday to Anthony and get some cake and ice cream. Tony stripped off the little boy's clothes, leaving just his diaper and set him in the highchair. Anthony spotted the cakes and banged his hands on the tray. His eyes got really wide when Ziva put the large cupcake on the tray; Tony got several good pictures of the baby's expressions before the hands went into the cake.

Tim and Dee gave the twins tastes of the cake and ice cream as the rest of the family enjoyed the treats. Anthony had cake bits and icing on his hands, arms, chest, and face. He ate most of the cake and only ended up wearing a small portion of it. Tony and Ziva captured plenty of images for memories, including Tali's amused expression when Anthony was done eating the cake and ice cream.

As the other adults and the two little girls settled back into the family room, Tony and Ziva cleaned up their baby as best they could without a full bath and the three returned to the family room. Breena slipped into Ziva's office to feed Charles. The adults talked while the kids played on the floor. Eventually the littler kids got quiet.

Ziva nudged Tony after she looked over at Anthony. She got Dee's attention and pointed at the sight. Anthony and Katie were sound asleep on the blanket on the floor with Anthony's arm over the younger baby protectively. Cameras on phones captured the image of the two sleeping little ones; the pictures would become favorites over the years. John was asleep in Tim's lap and Charles in his carrier.

Tali looked over at her little brother sleeping peacefully next to their cousin, "Ima; Anthony is so cute when he's asleep. And he stays out of trouble that way! I think I got the best little brother!"


End file.
